Fiber treatment agent, fibers for artificial hair and headdress product

ABSTRACT

A fiber treatment agent can provide artificial hair fiber with smooth and dry texture. A fiber treatment agent includes water; silicone oil; and ionic liquid. Content of the sum of the silicone oil and the ionic liquid with respect to the water is 2 parts by weight or more and less than 10 parts by weight. Content of the silicone oil with respect to the weight of the water is more than 0.5 parts by weight and 9.5 parts by weight or less. Content of the ionic liquid with respect to the weight of the water is 0.2 parts by weight or more and 5.0 parts by weight or less.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to a fiber treatment agent of fibers used for headdress product such as wig, hair piece, braid, extension hair and the like (hereinafter referred to as “artificial hair fiber”), and to artificial hair fibers and headdress product using such.

BACKGROUND

Patent Literature 1 discloses a fiber treatment agent for providing slipping property and antistatic property to artificial hair fiber.

CITATION LIST Patent Literature

-   [Patent Literature 1] JP 2011-184831A

SUMMARY OF INVENTION Technical Problem

In the artificial hair fiber of Patent Literature 1, suppression of tackiness while maintaining slipping property and antistatic property is required.

Solution to Problem

The present inventors have conducted intensive studies, and found that by using a fiber treatment agent comprising water, silicone oil, and ionic liquid, artificial hair fiber having suppressed tackiness while maintaining slipping property and antistatic property can be obtained, thereby leading to completion of the present invention.

According to the present invention, a fiber treatment agent, comprising: water; silicone oil; and ionic liquid; wherein: content of the silicone oil with respect to 100 parts by weight of the water is more than 0.5 parts by weight and 9.5 parts by weight or less; and content of the ionic liquid with respect to 100 parts by weight of the water is 0.2 parts by weight or more and 5.0 parts by weight or less, is provided.

Hereinafter, various embodiments of the present invention will be explained. The embodiments shown below can be combined with each other.

Preferably, regarding the fiber treatment agent, the silicone oil is amino-modified silicone oil, and the ionic liquid contains ammonium ion.

According to another aspect of the invention, artificial hair fiber surface-treated with the fiber treatment agent is provided.

Preferably, total amount of the silicone oil and the ionic liquid adhered to the artificial hair fiber is 0.03 to 1.0 weight % with respect to the weight of the artificial hair fiber.

According to another aspect of the present invention, an artificial hair fiber, wherein: silicone oil and ionic liquid are adhered on the artificial hair fiber; adhesion amount of the silicone oil is 0.02 weight % or more and 0.5 weight % or less with respect to a weight of the artificial hair fiber; and adhesion amount of the ionic liquid is 0.01 weight % or more and 0.5 weight % or less with respect to the weight of the artificial hair fiber, is provided.

According to another aspect of the present invention, a headdress product comprising the artificial hair fiber, is provided.

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

The fiber treatment agent of the present embodiment comprises water, silicone oil, and ionic liquid. By applying the fiber treatment agent on the surface of the artificial hair fiber, slipping property and antistatic property are provided to the artificial hair fiber, and tackiness is suppressed.

The silicone oil is for providing slipping property to artificial hair fiber. The silicone oil can be straight silicone oil or can be modified silicone oil. As the straight silicone oil, dimethyl silicone oil, methyl phenyl silicone oil, methyl hydrogen silicone oil and the like can be mentioned. As the modified silicone oil, epoxy-modified silicone oil, amino-modified silicone oil, silanol-modified silicone oil, acryl-modified silicone oil, polyether-modified silicone oil and the like can be mentioned. The silicone oil is preferably modified silicone oil, and more preferably amino-modified silicone oil.

The ionic liquid is for providing antistatic property to artificial hair fiber. As the positive ion of the ionic liquid, ammonium ion, imidazolium ion, pyridinium ion, pyrrolidinium ion, pyrrolinium ion, piperidinium ion, pyrazinium ion, pyrimidinium ion, triazolium ion, triazinium ion, quinolinium ion, isoquinolinium ion, indolinium ion, quinoxalinium ion, piperazinium ion, oxazolinium ion, thiazolinium ion, morpholinium ion and the like can be mentioned. As the negative ion of the ionic liquid, halogen based ion, boron based ion, phosphorus based ion, sulfonic acid anion and the like can be mentioned. Here, when the silicone oil is amino-modified silicone, in terms of compatibility and dispersibility, the ionic liquid preferably has the ammonium ion as the positive ion.

The content of the silicone oil with respect to 100 parts by weight of water is preferably more than 0.5 parts by weight and 9.5 parts by weight or less, more preferably 1.5 to 7.0 parts by weight. When the content of the silicone oil is more than 0.5 parts by weight, sufficient slipping property can be provided to the artificial hair fiber. When the content of the silicone oil is 9.5 parts by weight or less, tackiness of the artificial hair fiber can be suppressed sufficiently. The content of the silicone oil with respect to 100 parts by weight of water is, particularly for example, 0.6, 0.7, 0.8, 0.9, 1.0, 1.5, 2.0, 2.5, 3.0, 3.2, 3.5, 4.0, 4.5, 5.0, 5.5, 6.0, 6.5, 7.0, 7.5, 7.9, 8.0, 8.5, 9.0, or 9.5 parts by weight, and can be in the range between the two values exemplified herein.

The content of the ionic liquid with respect to 100 parts by weight of water is preferably 0.2 parts by weight or more and 5.0 parts by weight or less, more preferably 0.4 to 3.5 parts by weight. When the content of the ionic liquid is 0.2 parts by weight or more, sufficient antistatic property can be provided to the artificial hair fiber. When the content of the ionic liquid is 5.0 parts by weight or less, tackiness of the artificial hair fiber can be suppressed sufficiently. The content of the ionic liquid with respect to 100 parts by weight of water is, particularly for example, 0.2, 0.3, 0.4, 0.5, 0.6, 0.7, 0.8, 0.9, 1.0, 1.1, 1.5, 2.0, 2.2, 2.5, 3.0, 3.5, 4.0, 4.5, or 5.0 parts by weight, and can be in the range between the two values exemplified herein.

The total content of the silicone oil and the ionic liquid with respect to 100 parts by weight of water is preferably less than 10 parts by weight. When the total content is less than 10 parts by weight, tackiness of the artificial hair fiber can be suppressed.

The fiber treatment agent can include antimicrobial processing agent, deodorant processing agent, antifungal processing agent, UV cutting agent, softening agent, SR processing agent, aromatic processing agent, flame retardant, antistatic agent, defoaming agent, fragrance and the like. On the other hand, it is preferable that the fiber treatment agent substantially does not include cationic activator. For example, the fiber treatment agent does not include the cationic activator at all, or even in a case where the fiber treatment agent includes the cationic activator, the content of the cationic activator with respect to 100 parts by weight of water is preferably 1 part by weight or less, more preferably 0.1 part by weight or less. When the cationic activator is used in place of the ionic liquid to provide sufficient antistatic property to the artificial hair fiber, tackiness can occur.

The fiber treatment agent is applied on the surface of the artificial hair fiber. The artificial hair fiber after having the fiber treatment agent applied is used for headdress products such as wig, hair piece, braid, extension hair and the like. The headdress product according to one embodiment of the present invention includes artificial hair fiber having the fiber treatment agent applied thereon, and having effective component adhered thereon.

As the method for adhering the fiber treatment agent on the artificial hair fiber, conventional method for applying liquid on artificial hair fiber can be adopted. For example, a method in which the artificial hair fiber is wound onto a roll having the fiber treatment agent adhered on its surface, a method in which the artificial hair fiber is immersed in a liquid tank filled with the fiber treatment agent, a method in which the fiber treatment agent is adhered on the artificial hair fiber by a tool for coating such as brush, coating brush and the like, can be mentioned.

Regarding the fiber treatment agent, it is preferable that the effective component, that is, the compound contained in the treatment agent (silicone oil and ionic liquid), adhere onto the surface of the artificial hair fiber by a specified ratio. The total amount of the silicone oil and the ionic liquid adhered onto the artificial hair fiber with respect to the weight of the artificial hair fiber is preferably 0.03 to 1.0 weight %. When the adhesion amount of the effective component is below 0.03 weight %, the effect of the fiber treatment agent cannot be expected, and there is a possibility that the effect for antistatic property and slipping property cannot be achieved. In addition, when the adhesion amount of the effective component exceeds 1.0 weight %, tackiness occur with the artificial hair fiber, and thus texture can degrade. The total adhesion amount of the silicone oil and the ionic liquid is, particularly for example, 0.05, 0.06, 0.07, 0.08, 0.09, 0.1, 0.2, 0.3, 0.4, 0.5, 0.6, 0.7, 0.8, 0.9, or 1.0, and can be in the range between the two values exemplified herein.

The amount of the silicone oil adhered to the artificial hair fiber is preferably 0.02 to 0.5 weight % with respect to the weight of the artificial hair fiber. When the adhesion amount of the silicone oil is 0.02 weight % or more, sufficient slipping property can be provided to the artificial hair fiber. When the adhesion amount of the silicone oil is 0.5 weight % or less, the tackiness of the artificial hair fiber can be suppressed. The adhesion amount of the silicone oil is, particularly for example, 0.02, 0.03, 0.04, 0.05, 0.06, 0.07, 0.08, 0.09, 0.1, 0.2, 0.3, 0.4, or 0.5 weight %, and can be in the range between the two values exemplified herein.

The amount of the ionic liquid adhered to the artificial hair fiber is, with respect to the weight of the artificial hair fiber, preferably 0.01 to 0.5 weight %. When the adhesion amount of the ionic liquid is 0.01 weight % or more, sufficient antistatic property can be provided to the artificial hair fiber. When the adhesion amount of the ionic liquid is 0.5 weight % or less, tackiness of the artificial hair fiber can be suppressed. The adhesion amount of the ionic liquid is, particularly for example, 0.01, 0.02, 0.03, 0.04, 0.05, 0.06, 0.07, 0.08, 0.09, 0.1, 0.2, 0.3, 0.4, or 0.5 weight %, and can be in the range between the two values exemplified herein.

As the artificial hair fiber, vinyl chloride based fiber, polyester based fiber, and polyamide based fiber can be mentioned. The artificial hair fiber is manufactured through melt spinning step, drawing step, and annealing step. In the melt spinning step, undrawn fiber is manufactured by melt spinning a resin composition. In particular, single screw extruder, twin screw extruder, roller, Banbury mixer, kneader and the like is used to melt and knead the polyvinyl chloride based resin, polyester based resin or polyamide based resin with various compounding agent such as heat stabilizer, lubricant, flame retardant, UV absorber and the like as necessary. Subsequently, melt spinning is carried out by normal melt spinning method. Here, the undrawn fiber is obtained by controlling the fineness and adjusting the winding speed.

In the drawing step, the undrawn fiber obtained is drawn by a drawing magnitude of 1.5 to 5.0 times, thereby manufacturing a drawn fiber. The drawing magnitude is preferably 2.0 to 4.0 times. When the drawing magnitude is sufficiently large, fiber strength tends to be achieved suitably, and when the drawing magnitude is sufficiently small, thread breakage during drawing processing tends to be suppressed.

The temperature during the drawing processing is preferably 80 to 120° C. When the temperature during the drawing processing is too low, the fiber strength tends to become weak and thread breakage tends to occur easily. When the temperature of the drawing processing is too high, the texture of the fiber obtained tends to be close to those of slippery plastic.

In the annealing step, the drawn fiber is subjected to heat treatment at a heat treatment temperature of 100 to 200° C. With this heat treatment, thermal shrinkage of the drawn fiber can be suppressed. The heat treatment can be performed following the drawing processing, or can be performed some time after the drawn fiber is wound.

The fineness of single fiber of the artificial hair fiber according to the present embodiment is preferably 20 to 100 decitex, more preferably 35 to 80 decitex. In order to achieve such fineness of single fiber, fineness of fiber immediately after the melt spinning step (undrawn fiber) is preferably adjusted to 300 decitex or lower. When the fineness of the undrawn fiber is small, the drawing magnitude for obtaining artificial hair fiber with low fineness can be made small, thereby suppressing occurrence of gloss in the artificial hair fiber after drawing processing.

The artificial hair fiber is preferably (1) artificial hair fiber formed from vinyl chloride based resin, or (2) artificial hair fiber formed from polyamide based resin. The vinyl chloride based resin is obtained by bulk polymerization, solution polymerization, suspension polymerization, emulsion polymerization and the like. Preferably, the vinyl chloride based resin is obtained by suspension polymerization in terms of initial colorability of the fiber and the like. The vinyl chloride based resin is a homopolymer resin which is a homopolymerized product of vinyl chloride or various copolymer resin, or a mixture of these. As the copolymer resin, copolymer resin of vinyl chloride and vinyl ester such as vinyl chloride-vinyl acetate copolymer resin and vinyl chloride-vinyl propionate copolymer resin; copolymer resin of vinyl chloride and acrylic ester such as vinyl chloride-butyl acrylate copolymer resin and vinyl chloride-2-ethylhexyl acrylate copolymer resin; copolymer resin of vinyl chloride and olefin such as vinyl chloride-ethylene copolymer resin and vinyl chloride-propylene copolymer resin; vinyl chloride-acrylonitrile copolymer resin and the like can be mentioned. Regarding the copolymer resin, the content of the comonomer can be decided depending on the required quality such as processability, fiber property and the like. The vinyl chloride based resin is preferably one of vinyl chloride resin, mixture of vinyl chloride resin and chlorinated vinyl chloride resin, vinyl chloride-acrylonitrile copolymer, or is a mixture of two or more of these.

As the polyamide based resin, nylon 6, nylon 66, nylon 11, nylon 12, nylon 6.10, nylon 6.12, and copolymer of these can be mentioned. Preferably, polyamide based resin is nylon 6, nylon 66, or copolymer of nylon 6 and nylon 66.

EXAMPLES

Hereinafter, the present invention will be explained in detail with reference to Examples and Comparative Examples.

1. Formulation of Fiber Treatment Agent

Formulation (component and its blending amount (parts by weight)) of the fiber treatment agent of each of the Examples and Comparative Examples are shown in Table 1. The materials used for the fiber treatment agent are as follows. Here, the blending amount of the silicone oil shown in Table 1 is the content of the silicone oil in the silicone emulsion. Further, when obtained as a commercially available product, the cationic activator used in Comparative Example 5 is in the form of an aqueous solution. Accordingly, the blending amount of the cationic activator shown in Table 1 is the content of the cationic activator in the aqueous solution.

-   -   silicone emulsion: AS-50 (YOSHIMURA OIL CHEMICAL CO., Ltd.)         ionic liquid: Aminoion AS300 (NIPPON NYUKAZAI CO., LTD.)         cationic activator: QUARTAMIN 60W (Kao Corporation)

TABLE 1 Example 1 Example 2 Example 3 Example 4 Example 5 Example 6 Example 7 fiber water 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 treatment silicone oil 1.0 3.2 7.9 3.2 3.2 3.2 3.2 agent ionic liquid 1 1 1.1 0.5 2.2 1.1 1.1 cationic activator 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 fiber vinyl vinyl vinyl vinyl vinyl polyester polyamide chloride chloride chloride chloride chloride based based based based based based based adhesion silicone oil 0.032 0.11 0.28 0.13 0.12 0.14 0.13 amount of ionic liquid 0.048 0.052 0.065 0.026 0.14 0.071 0.064 effective cationic activator 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 component (weight %) evaluation antistatic property A A A B A A A slipping property B A AA A A A A tackiness AA A B A A A A Comparative Comparative Comparative Comparative Comparative Example 1 Example 2 Example 3 Example 4 Example 5 fiber water 100 100 100 100 100 treatment silicone oil 0.5 15 3 3 3 agent ionic liquid 1 1 0.1 7 0 cationic activator 0 0 0 0 2 fiber vinyl vinyl vinyl vinyl vinyl chloride chloride chloride chloride chloride based based based based based adhesion silicone oil 0.013 0.72 0.11 0.095 0.098 amount of ionic liquid 0.046 0.055 0.0065 0.54 0 effective cationic activator 0 0 0 0 0.13 component (weight %) evaluation antistatic property A A C A A slipping property C AA A A A tackiness A C A C C

2. Artificial Hair Fiber

As the artificial hair fiber, vinyl chloride based fiber was used in Examples 1 to 5 and Comparative Examples 1 to 5. In Example 6, polyester based fiber was used, and in Example 7, polyamide based fiber was used. The following ones were used as each of the fibers. Here, average fineness of each of the fibers was 55 to 70 dtex.

vinyl chloride based fiber: prepared by Denka Company Limited (polyvinyl chloride (available from TAIYO VINYL CORPORATION, TH-700) was used)

polyester based fiber: prepared by Denka Company Limited (polyethylene terephthalate (available from Mitsui Chemicals, Inc., J125Ω) was used)

polyamide based fiber: prepared by Denka Company Limited (polyamide 66 (available from Toray Industries, Inc., AMILAN CM3001-N) was used)

3. Application of Fiber Treatment Agent

With each of the Examples and Comparative Examples, after drawing was completed in the manufacturing process of the fiber, the fiber treatment agent was applied on the artificial hair fiber by roller transfer method. The adhesion amount (weight %) of the effective component (silicone oil and ionic liquid) of the fiber treatment agent adhered on the artificial hair fiber with respect to the weight of the artificial hair fiber is shown in Table 1.

4. Evaluation of Artificial Hair Fiber (1) Antistatic Property

With each of the Examples and Comparative Examples, the artificial hair fiber was bundled to have 250 mm length and 20 g weight. The bundled fiber was allowed to stand under conditions of ° C. and 50% RH for 24 hours, and then surface resistance was measured using a digital ultra high resistance/micro current meter (available from ADVANTEST CORPORATION, R8340) under applied voltage of 10 V. Then, average of the measured values was obtained by N=5, and the antistatic property was evaluated in accordance with the following criteria.

A: average of surface resistance is lower than 1.0×10¹⁰Ω)

B: average of surface resistance is 1.0×10¹⁰Ω) or higher and lower than 1.0×10¹²Ω)

C: average of surface resistance is 1.0×10¹²Ω) or higher (2) Slipping Property

Slipping property was evaluated as follows. The artificial hair fiber of the Examples and Comparative Examples were bundled to have 250 mm length and 20 g weight. The bundles were evaluated by 10 artificial hair fiber engineers (5 or more years of experience) by hand touch observation in accordance with the following criteria.

AA: all of the engineers evaluated slipping property superior

A: ratio of engineers who evaluated slipping property superior was 90% or more and less than 100%

B: ratio of engineers who evaluated slipping property superior was 70% or more and less than 90%

C: ratio of engineers who evaluated slipping property superior was less than 70%

(3) Tackiness

Tackiness was evaluated as follows. The artificial hair fiber of the Examples and Comparative Examples were bundled to have 250 mm length and 20 g weight. The bundles were evaluated by 10 artificial hair fiber engineers (5 or more years of experience) by hand touch observation in accordance with the following criteria.

AA: all of the engineers evaluated there was no tackiness and texture was superior

A: ratio of engineers who evaluated there was no tackiness and texture was superior was 90% or more and less than 100%

B: ratio of engineers who evaluated there was no tackiness and texture was superior was 70% or more and less than 90%

C: ratio of engineers who evaluated there was no tackiness and texture was superior was less than 70%

From the results of Examples 1 to 10 and Comparative Example 1, it can be understood that when the total amount of the silicone oil content and the ionic liquid content with respect to 100 parts by weight of water is 2 parts by weight of more in the fiber treatment agent, sufficient slipping property can be provided to the artificial hair fiber. From the results of Examples 1 to 10 and Comparative Example 2, it can be understood that when the total amount of the silicone oil content and the ionic liquid content with respect to 100 parts by weight of water is less than 10 parts by weight in the fiber treatment agent, tackiness of the artificial hair fiber can be suppressed sufficiently.

Further, from the results of Examples 1 to 10 and Comparative Example 1, it can be understood that when the adhesion amount of the silicone oil on the artificial hair fiber is 0.02 weight % or more, the slipping property of the artificial hair fiber becomes superior. From the results of Examples 1 to 10 and Comparative Example 2, it can be understood that when the adhesion amount of the silicone oil on the artificial hair fiber is 0.5 weight % or less, tackiness of the artificial hair fiber can be suppressed sufficiently.

From the results of Examples 1 to 10 and Comparative Example 3, it can be understood that when the content of the ionic liquid with respect to 100 parts by weight of water is 0.2 parts by weight or more in the fiber treatment agent, sufficient antistatic property can be provided to the artificial hair fiber. From the results of Examples 1 to 10 and Comparative Example 4, it can be understood that when the content of the ionic liquid with respect to 100 parts by weight of water is 5 parts by weight or less in the fiber treatment agent, tackiness of the artificial hair fiber can be suppressed sufficiently.

In addition, from the results of Examples 1 to 10 and Comparative Example 3, it can be understood that when the adhesion amount of the ionic liquid on the artificial hair fiber is 0.01 weight % or more, the antistatic property of the artificial hair fiber becomes superior. From the results of Examples 1 to 10 and Comparative Example 4, it can be understood that when the adhesion amount of the ionic liquid on the artificial hair fiber is 0.5 weight % or less, tackiness of the artificial hair fiber can be suppressed sufficiently.

From the results of Examples 1 to 10 and Comparative Example 5, it can be understood that when the cationic activator is used in place of the ionic liquid to provide sufficient antistatic property to the artificial hair fiber, tackiness occur. 

1. A fiber treatment agent, comprising: water; silicone oil; and ionic liquid; wherein: content of the silicone oil with respect to 100 parts by weight of the water is more than 0.5 parts by weight and 9.5 parts by weight or less; and content of the ionic liquid with respect to 100 parts by weight of the water is 0.2 parts by weight or more and 5.0 parts by weight or less.
 2. The fiber treatment agent of claim 1, wherein: the silicone oil is amino-modified silicone oil; and the ionic liquid contains ammonium ion.
 3. An artificial hair fiber surface-treated with the fiber treatment agent of claim
 1. 4. The artificial hair fiber of claim 3, wherein a total amount of the silicone oil and the ionic liquid adhered on the artificial hair fiber is 0.03 to 1.0 weight % with respect to a weight of the artificial hair fiber.
 5. An artificial hair fiber, wherein: silicone oil and ionic liquid are adhered on the artificial hair fiber; adhesion amount of the silicone oil is 0.02 weight % or more and 0.5 weight % or less with respect to a weight of the artificial hair fiber; and adhesion amount of the ionic liquid is 0.01 weight % or more and 0.5 weight % or less with respect to the weight of the artificial hair fiber.
 6. A headdress product comprising the artificial hair fiber of claim
 3. 7. An artificial hair fiber surface-treated with the fiber treatment agent of claim
 2. 8. The artificial hair fiber of claim 7, wherein a total amount of the silicone oil and the ionic liquid adhered on the artificial hair fiber is 0.03 to 1.0 weight % with respect to a weight of the artificial hair fiber.
 9. A headdress product comprising the artificial hair fiber of claim
 4. 10. A headdress product comprising the artificial hair fiber of claim
 5. 11. A headdress product comprising the artificial hair fiber of claim
 7. 12. A headdress product comprising the artificial hair fiber of claim 8 